Lori Berenson

On November 30, 1995, Lori Berenson, an American citizen, was arrested while riding on a bus in downtown Lima, Peru. She was charged with treason against the state of Peru—a legal absurdity, since Lori is not a citizen of Peru—but charging her with treason enabled Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori to have Lori tried before a military tribunal, where conviction is virtually guaranteed, rather than in a civilian court.

To no one’s surprise, the military tribunal convicted Berenson. The conviction rate of the military court is nearly 100 percent, for reasons easily understood: the accused is not allowed to examine the “evidence” upon which the charges are based; the accused is not afforded an opportunity to rebut either evidence or witnesses who testify against her; and the accused is systematically deprived of the right to present exculpatory evidence of her own.

In essence, the “judge” (who remains hooded throughout the trial) reads the file that is presented by the prosecution, inevitably finds the accused guilty, and pronounces sentence—which is to say, he finds the accused guilty to one degree or another. A gun held to her head by a hooded soldier, 26-year-old Lori Berenson learned that her fate was to spend the rest of her life in a maximum prison without the possibility of parole.

Lori was in Peru as a journalist. She was writing articles on the effects of poverty on women in Peru for two New York publications, Modern Times and Third World Viewpoint. The editors of both magazines verified, in writing, to the investigating officials that she was, indeed, working for them. The Peruvian government approved Lori’s credentials and declared them legitimate, but now, having falsely convicted her, claims they were fakes. Peru claims that Lori was not merely a member of a terrorist group—the Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movement (MRTA)—but, preposterously, a leader of that group.

The Peruvian government succeeded in portraying her innocent, open, and above-board visits with members of the Peruvian Congress, whom she interviewed for her articles, as terrorist scouting missions—despite the fact that there is absolutely no evidence that she asked questions that could have been of use to any opposition group, terrorist or otherwise, and abundant evidence to suggest that she was doing exactly what the Peruvian government had said she had a right to: pursuing her livelihood as a journalist.

While Lori may or may not have been interviewing members of the MRTA for her articles—the facts are unclear—she has never been a member of that group and no actual evidence that she is or was a member has ever been presented. She has consistently and repeatedly denounced violence of any sort, and she has maintained her innocence.

Indeed, all the alleged ties the Peruvian government has labored to establish between Lori and the MRTA fall apart on even the most cursory of examinations. A sampling of the most frequently cited connections between Lori and the MRTA, and the truth about them, follows:

In short, every connection the Peruvian government attempted to make between Lori and the MRTA turned out to be false and could easily have been refuted if Lori had been given a chance to defend herself.

A civilian trial would have afforded such an opportunity. But for reasons one can only be speculate about, the Peruvian government—especially Peru’s autocratic leader, Alberto Fujimori—wanted to ensure that Lori would be convicted. Fujimori may have wanted to show the Peruvian people that he is willing to stand up to the United States—to prove that he has no fear of the American government. Taking a tough stance against the “American terrorist” may have been the gambit he decided on (a pretty safe one, as it turns out, since the American government has done so little to help, and seems so little concerned that one of its citizens is being illegally held in conditions that human rights organizations have called harsh, inhumane, and degrading).

It should be noted—even Lori’s own family openly admits this fact—that most Peruvians think Lori is guilty; this is only to be expected since the Peruvian press and the media in general is tightly controlled by the government and intimidated into toeing the government line. The overwhelming evidence of Lori’s innocence has never been seen or even hinted at in the Peruvian press. Under these circumstances, Fujimori’s tough stance against “Lori the American terrorist” is quite popular with the Peruvian people. It would be surprising, given the situation in Peru, to find a Peruvian who did not think Lori guilty and deserving of her harsh fate.

There are a few, though, including the former Prime Minister of Peru, Javier Valle Riestra, who think Lori is innocent. In June 1998, Javier Valle Riestra went so far as to opine publicly that Lori should be pardoned and deported from Peru because of the gross lack of fairness and contempt for due process of her “trial.” Fujimori refuses to entertain any such possibility. Valle Riestra has since resigned his post at least in part in protest over Fujimori’s dictatorial style and unwillingness to give up the presidency despite having already served the constitutionally-allowed maximum of two terms.

Since 1996, Rhoda and Mark Berenson have been fighting an uphill battle to get their daughter freed. The obstacles that remain in their way are many, not the least of which has been the first impression that both Americans and Peruvians had of Lori. This impression was the result of a carefully orchestrated media event, manipulated by the Peruvian government. Fujimori wanted to make sure that the impression of Lori would be that of a maniacal, unrepentant terrorist.

For two weeks after her arrest, Lori was held incommunicado in a small, dark, rat-infested cell. Lori herself was never physically abused during that time but the same cannot be said for Lori’s cellmate of 11 days. Lori shared this cell that was barely large enough for one person with a Peruvian woman who had been shot numerous times and was still bleeding from her wounds. She had a colostomy bag that was overflowing with waste, as well as a catheter that Lori, who has no medical training, had to try to re-insert every time it fell out. The woman had obviously been tortured. The woman was never given or even offered any medical treatment during the 11 days that Lori was with her. Lori alone took care of this woman.

At the end of this ordeal, Berenson, who had not been allowed to shower or change clothes during the whole two weeks, was told she was to be “presented” to the press. She was told there would be no microphones (a lie), and that she would have to shout if she expected to be heard. That is what she did—and that is precisely why she looked and sounded, for all the world, like a wild-eyed, screaming, maniacal criminal.

Outraged at the treatment of the wounded woman, Lori gave a statement that was defiant (understandably, considering the circumstances), but did not begin to approximate the “admission of guilt” the Peruvian government claimed it to be. Her statement in full (translated from Spanish):

Fujimori has seen to it that Berenson’s statement has never been seen in its proper and relevant context. (It was this evidence of Lori’s supposed “lack of remorse” for crimes she did not commit and her refusal to plead for mercy that convinced the tribunal “justice” to convict her and impose upon her the maximum sentence of life without parole.)

Moreover, this was the original image of Lori that was presented in the American press, as well. It is the image of Berenson that her parents have been laboring to overcome. For the mainstream American press was willing to accept the Peruvian government’s framing of the case and its framing (in both senses of the word) of Lori. Mark and Rhoda have been fighting back, as best they can: an article here, a mention on a news program there. But Fujimori has had the advantage of an almost insurmountable head start and a more coordinated and synchronized media push. When the Berensons try to interest the American media in the true story of their daughter, they are met with reluctance unless Lori can be interviewed. Fujimori refuses to allow this to happen. That is why Rhoda and Mark Berenson are trying to bring their appeal for help directly to all of the people who are concerned with justice and human rights.

 Years of imprisonment in a maximum security prison situated at more than 12,000 feet above sea-level, have left Lori with arthritis, vision problems, and circulatory problems that, despite Lori’s having recently been moved to a prison situated at a less health–endangering height of 7,000 feet above sea-level, refuse to go away. Lori’s hands are twisted and swollen to twice their normal size as a result of her circulatory problems. She sleeps in a cell with no running water and an open hole in the floor for a toilet. At night, the temperatures routinely drop below freezing; with no heat in her cell.

The United States Code 22 Section 1732 states quite clearly that the President is obliged to do all within his power short of a declaration of war to secure the release of an American citizen being unjustly detained by a foreign power. Amnesty International, the UN, the Organization of American States are just a few of the many international organizations who agree that Lori was deprived of due process, and ought, at the very least, to be granted a fair trial, if not released outright for humanitarian reasons. But so far—despite the pleas of Lori’s parents and family, her many supporters, and nearly half the members of the House of Representatives and well over half the members of the Senate—President Clinton has done virtually nothing to secure Lori’s release.

The Berenson family and all of Lori’s supporters hope that people of conscience will help them get President Clinton to pressure Fujimori to release Lori. The time to act is now, before the changes in government in both DC and Lima occur. Four years of unjust imprisonment is four years too long.      Z

Please write your representatives and ask them to free Lori. Contact: www. freelori.org.